


And We All Return to Our Roots

by todxrxki



Series: Bungou Stray Dogs AU [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst with a happy-ish ending, M/M, bungou stray dogs au, but requires no prior knowledge of BSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-09
Updated: 2019-02-09
Packaged: 2019-10-25 00:48:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17714882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/todxrxki/pseuds/todxrxki
Summary: “Even the best laid plans can fall to pieces!” comes a voice from behind him. Kenma feels a hand on his shoulder, a hand that he feels inclined to immediately shrug off as he turns to face the bane of his entire existence. - In which Mafia Kozume Kenma is confronted with unresolved feelings for his past partner. Bungou Stray Dogs AU.





	And We All Return to Our Roots

“Lev,” Kenma breathes out as calmly as he can. “You were supposed to be back here an hour and a half ago.”

 

“I knooooow, Kenma-san,” Lev cries on the other end of the line. “But we have a problem.”

 

Kenma grits his teeth, willing himself not to let out the stream of expletives that are floating through his mind. Instead, he says in a cool tone of voice, “What kind of problem could you possibly have? I sent all _four_ of you out on the field. I even sent out Tora to supervise. Any two of you should have been able to take out this threat in under fifteen minutes, much less when you have five people. So tell me. What exactly is the problem?”

 

Lev gulps audibly. “Uh, the Agency sent one of their men.”

 

At that, Kenma can feel his heart sink into his chest. Of course the Agency couldn’t leave well enough alone. Of course they’d have to send someone out to throw a wrench in the Mafia's plans, someone to make sure that they wouldn’t be able to take out the people that had been threatening their entire organization. Because the Agency just loves getting on Kenma’s last nerve. Kenma sighs into the phone, puts his head in his hands. “Please tell me it’s not who I think it is.”

 

“I- well, if you think it’s weird hair guy, then I can’t tell you that!”

 

“For fuck’s sake,” Kenma mumbles under his breath. “All right. I’m headed there now. Don’t do anything stupid.”

 

“I’ll try my best!” Lev promises cheerily, and Kenma almost hears the sound of a too-cocky “See you soon, Kenmaaa!” in the background before Lev hangs up.

 

.

 

Kenma slides out of the vehicle, his fists clenched inside of his dark gloves. He narrows his eyes at the scene in front of him. “Have you all just been standing here for the past hour and a half?”

 

“Well, we weren’t sure what else to do!” Inuoka says, bouncing up and down nervously. “They kind of have us cornered!”

 

“We had a plan,” Kenma reminds him.

 

“Even the best laid plans can fall to pieces!” comes a voice from behind him. Kenma feels a hand on his shoulder, a hand that he feels inclined to immediately shrug off as he turns to face the bane of his entire existence. The man just grins at him. “Had a feeling you’d show up.”

 

“Yeah, well, you fucked up my plans, so I kind of had to,” Kenma says. “Let me guess, you cancelled Lev’s ability so that he’d have to fight hand-to-hand, realized he completely sucks at hand-to-hand combat, and then made up a threat, saying you’d take out the entire squad if they tried to attack the Force.”

 

“Is it a threat if I could do it easily, or a promise?”

 

“You won’t,” Kenma says darkly. “You’re soft now. Don’t think I haven’t noticed.”

 

“All these years later and you still know me so well, Kenma.”

 

“It’s not as though you’re easy to forget,” Kenma says, glaring at him.

 

“You know this guy?” Lev says, glancing between the two of them.

 

Kenma shrugs. “Vaguely.” Turning back to the man, he said, “Now can you please let me exterminate this organization before they exterminate the entire Mafia?”

 

“Oh, Kenma, what kind of Agency member would I be if I just sat by and let you kill?”

 

“They’re a _threat._ ”

 

“Threats to the Mafia are no concern of mine.”

 

Kenma sighs. “Why do you have to be so difficult?”

 

“Makes life more fun,” the man says, brightness dancing in his eyes.

 

Kenma draws his gun and holds it in front of him, aiming it directly at the man standing in front of him. “Let me through or I’ll have to make my own way through.”

 

“You wouldn’t,” the man drawls, his smile brought up into a smirk. “After all, where would you be without your old friend Kuroo?”

 

“Better off at this point,” Kenma mutters.

 

“There’s a reason the Mafia has you doing all the plans and strategies and none of the dirty work,” Kuroo continues, looking completely unphased. “You’re loath to admit it, but you’re just as soft as I am. And especially for your childhood best friend.”

 

“Childhood best friend?” Inuoka squeaks.

 

“That’s almost sweet,” Shibayama muses.

 

Kenma ignores them. “I’ll do what I have to to complete the plan.”

 

Kuroo shrugs. “Okay then, if that’s what you want. But hey, I’ll even be nice this time. I’ll let you off the hook. I’m heading back to the Agency.” He raises his hands, steps to the side to give Kenma a pathway.

 

“What?” Kenma asks. It just doesn’t make any sense, by any of his calculations since he’d reached the scene. Kuroo should be intent on stopping him, on calling his bluffs, on ensuring that they don’t get anywhere near the Force. “But… won’t the Agency be mad?”

 

“Oh, they didn’t send me here. Any blood spilled from this fight is solely on the hands of the two organizations involved; it holds no significance to us,” Kuroo says easily, smirking again. “I sent myself.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Maybe I just wanted to see my favorite kitten,” Kuroo says, blowing a kiss in Kenma’s direction as he walks off. “See you next time!”

 

A low string of expletives make their way out of Kenma’s mouth as he watches Kuroo retreat. If he were a colder man, a stronger man, perhaps, he’d draw his gun and fire a shot into Kuroo’s back and relieve themselves of a lot of future pain.

 

Unfortunately, he’s not.

 

“An old friend, huh?” Yamamoto says teasingly, digging an elbow into his side.

 

“I’ve never seen him before in my life,” Kenma mutters, letting his hands drop down to his sides in something like relief.

 

“Kenma-san’s such a bad liar!” Lev sings.

 

“Shut up and get to work before I get rid of all of you,” Kenma says darkly. “There’s a clear path now. Shouldn’t be anything in your way. I expect you all back in less than an hour, you hear?”

 

Even now, even after Kuroo’s vanished from his line of sight, as he gets into the car and drives away, he can feel the rapid pounding of his heart.

 

.

 

“Kenmaaaa, you have a visitor!” his young, bright secretary chirps from his doorway.

 

Kenma lifts his head up from the papers he’s been reviewing to blink. “I’m not expecting anyone.”

 

Hinata shrugs. “Well, someone’s here anyways. A tall dude, dark hair, looks like a rooster -“

 

“Tell him to get out,” Kenma says.

 

“I tried that already!” Hinata says sheepishly. “And then I tried to drag him away while I was flying, but unfortunately that didn’t work out so well because the second I touched him I fell to the ground, and -“

 

“Hi, Kenma,” comes a voice from Hinata’s side. “So good to see you again.”

 

“Give me one good reason to not have you assassinated for having the audacity to sneak into my office.”

 

“Because you love me,” Kuroo says, holding up a finger, and then, adding another, “and because I have a proposal for you.”

 

“I’m not marrying you, Kuroo.”

 

“That’s not what I was asking,” Kuroo says. “A business proposal is more along the lines of what I was thinking.”

 

“Do tell. But make it quick. I have a meeting in an hour. An _actual_ meeting.”

 

Kuroo chuckles. “You know, your underlings were right. You really have become a hardass.”

  
Kenma doesn’t blink. He knows Kuroo, knows that Kuroo tries intentionally to get under his skin, to provoke him, to get a rise over the usually stoic-seeming Kozume Kenma. He won’t let him have the satisfaction of it today. Instead, he says, “You realize you’re wasting your time.”

 

Kuroo sighs dramatically. “Okay, okay, fine, we’ll skip all the pleasant conversations and catch up. Anyways, I was coming here to propose a truce.”

 

“A… truce?” Kenma asks warily. It’s true enough, he supposes, that the Port Mafia and the Armed Detective Agency, where Kuroo works, are the two powerhouses of Tokyo, where they reside. The Armed Detective Agency, though, typically cooperates more with the side of justice and with the police, whereas the Port Mafia… well, not so much. But the two organizations are constantly at each other’s throats. He’d never have imagined they’d propose to work together.

 

“Well, yeah,” Kuroo says, slumping down into the chair across from Kenma. “You know about the Guild, I’m sure.”

 

“Of course,” Kenma says with a nod of acknowledgment.

 

“And you know that Oikawa Tooru will stop at nothing to see Tokyo in shambles.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Well, the Armed Detective Agency doesn’t want that to happen, nor does the Agency, so it would be to the benefit of both of our organizations if we were to collaborate.”

 

“Hm,” Kenma says, eyeing Kuroo. He looks sincere enough, but over the years of knowing him, Kenma knows that it’s best to know that none of Kuroo’s proposals come without strings attached. So he says, “What’s the catch?”

 

“No catch,” Kuroo says, grinning lazily.

 

“That’s a lie.”

 

“God, fine, you win,” Kuroo says, rolling his eyes and spinning one of the pens on Kenma’s desk around in his hand. “I want you as my partner.”

 

“No,” Kenma hisses. “No, what the hell? Why would you even want that?”

 

Kuroo frowns. “I dunno, nostalgia? Missing my best friend?”

 

“Don’t call me that, you traitor.”

 

“Kenma,” Kuroo says, but there’s something to it beyond his usual nonchalant tone, almost… a twinge of pain? It’s too small for Kenma to really examine, but he wonders.

 

“Who even let you set the terms of this negotiation?”

 

“The president of the ADA also agrees that it’d be for the best if we were to work together, given how good of a team we used to be. This is non-negotiable.”

 

Kenma groans. Once again, it seems that Kuroo’s got him cornered. He can’t exactly refuse this proposal, since it would certainly be to the Mafia’s benefit, and he almost never goes against what’s in the Mafia’s best interest. Frowning in defeat, he lowers his head. “Whatever. I’ll be your stupid partner. Any other conditions?”

 

“Just the one,” Kuroo says cheerfully. “Strategy meeting tomorrow?”

 

“If we have to.”

 

“See you tomorrow, _partner._ ”

 

It’s been a long time since Kenma’s heard that from Kuroo Tetsurou’s lips.

 

.

 

Kenma’s known Kuroo for more years than he hasn’t known Kuroo.

 

He’s known Kuroo since Kenma was all but manipulated into joining the mafia, since Kenma was picked up off of the street, a gangly six-year-old orphan, and told to work or to starve. Kenma doesn’t like work, doesn’t like getting his hands dirty, and so from the very first day he’d been determined to prove himself as a strategist so that he could work entirely behind the scenes.

 

All that fell to pieces when Kenma’s ability was discovered.

 

People in their world had abilities. That much was accepted. There were a few select people in their world that could do things beyond the imagination, people who could fly, people who had super strength, people who could run at the speed of light. He knew that Kuroo had an ability, a weird one, though: the ability to cancel out any other ability with a simple touch. But he hadn’t ever dreamed he could also have an ability. He hadn’t meant to send a table flying into the wall, shattering it to pieces. Everyone in the room had stared at him, including the boss at the time, who simply looked Kenma up and down and said, “You’ve been holding back.”

 

Then, at the tender age of nine years of age, he’d started training with Kuroo Tetsurou.

 

Before then, Kuroo had been an occasional presence in his life, someone who’d show up and pester him for a while before getting bored and moving on. Then, at nine, Kuroo was a constant presence in his life. He was annoying, to be sure, but Kenma also found over the next few years that he was more. He was caring, to a fault in an organization as cruel as the Mafia, cunning, funny, and obnoxiously smart. He was Kenma’s one competitor within the Mafia in terms of strategic planning. And then at sixteen, he was Kenma’s partner.

 

“You two could do some real damage,” the boss said approvingly.

 

After leaving the meeting, Kuroo had beckoned Kenma back to his room, wrapping his arm around Kenma’s shoulders as they sat down on his bed. “We’re gonna be sent out on some real missions now, huh?”

 

“Sounds like a lot of work to me.”

 

Kuroo’d chuckled, smiling down at Kenma. “You aren’t scared? It’s gonna be really dangerous out there.”

 

“Well, it’s you and me, Kuro,” Kenma had pointed out. “We’re both smart and powerful. There’s no one out there who could dream of destroying us.”

 

Kuroo had simply nodded at that. “And I’ll have your back no matter what.”

 

A half-smile had made its way onto Kenma’s face. “Yeah. That’s what partners do, after all.”

 

The boss was right. Their partnership had worked, almost too well, actually. They became the most infamous duo in the region. Pictures of their faces were plastered on every free surface, pictures that Kuroo would pick up and complain that they made his nose too big, and how was anyone supposed to know how handsome he was if they did him dirty like this? Kenma would just roll his eyes and toss the picture in the trash.

 

After their missions, they’d go back to their quarters, which happened to be right beside each other. Kuroo would cook, usually, unless he had some illness or fatigue (which Kenma typically doubted the legitimacy of), in which case Kenma would order delivery. They’d sit in front of the TV and Kuroo would switch on some stupid romantic drama and end up with tears in the corners of his eyes by the end of it. Kenma would switch it off after the ending and tell him he was a sap, way too soft for the Mafia, and Kuroo would just grin and ruffle his hair.

 

It was comfortable. As close to happiness as one could ever get in the Mafia, really. Kuroo was the only person in the Mafia that Kenma had ever really trusted, his best friend. And he will be the last person in the Mafia Kenma ever fully trusts.

 

Because Kuroo left.

 

He’d been talking for a while about how he didn’t think he was fit for the Mafia, for the constant killing and death, but Kenma hadn’t ever imagined he would leave, much less that he’d leave without even a word to Kenma. One of Kuroo’s friends, his drinking buddy, was killed, and something in Kuroo, Kenma guesses, just snapped. The next thing he knew he was in the boss’ office, being told about how Kuroo Tetsurou was now officially a traitor and an enemy to the Mafia. And then, two years later, someone had reported that Kuroo had joined the Armed Detective Agency and he’d been thrown back into Kenma’s life.

 

But things are different now. Kenma doesn’t care about Kuroo anymore. He doesn’t think about him anymore. He’s done well for himself without Kuroo to be weighed down by. Things are different now; Kenma’s different now. Kenma’s risen through the ranks. Kenma’s strong, the Boss of the entire Mafia. He rarely goes on missions now; instead, he’s busy devising the plans for everyone else in the Mafia. He’s far too busy to consider anyone as irrelevant as Kuroo Tetsurou.

 

Kenma’s also become better at lying to himself.

 

.

 

“Let’s go, partner,” Kuroo says, his hand falling on Kenma’s shoulder.

 

“Don’t call me that,” Kenma says, nudging Kuroo’s hand off. “Let’s get this over with.”

 

“Is it so bad to be associated with me?”

 

“A known traitor? Absolutely.”

 

“Kenma…” Kuroo trails off, looking as though there’s something building behind his eyes, something he desperately wants to express.

 

Kenma doesn’t want to hear it. No, he thinks, it’s far too late for that. They arrive at the spot they’ve been summoned to, and Kenma’s eyes quickly take in the surroundings, cataloguing their current situation. Just one enemy, which is good for them. It all seems to be going well; the enemy responds to their taunting and they’re able to get in a good kick or two, but then-

 

“What the fuck?” Kuroo hisses beside him as a tornado made of vines rises up into the air, the enemy inside, controlling it.

 

“It’s fine,” Kenma says calmly. “Just go with plan _Red Bastion._ ”

 

Kuroo inhales deeply, before nodding. “Okay. Give me a boost.”

 

Kenma gets him up into the air, close enough that he can get a hand on the beast, but then Kuroo’s crashing back down, down, down, until he hits the ground in front of Kenma. He lies there for a good few seconds, unresponsive, and Kenma can feel his own heart almost come to a stop as he kneels down. “Kuroo. Are you okay?”

 

“Kenma,” Kuroo says dramatically. “Before I die, I have one last wish…”

 

Kenma nudges him with his foot, scowling. “You’re fine.”

 

“But you didn’t even get to hear my last wish!”

 

“Tell me after we finish this battle. Anyways, what happened? How were you not able to nullify his ability?”

 

“There’s never been an ability I wasn’t able to nullify,” Kuroo says. “Which means…”

 

“Huh,” Kenma says. “It’s not an ability after all. Then that leaves only one option.”

 

Silence falls between the two of them — a heavy, loaded silence, one that falls on Kenma like a sheet of ice. Kuroo finally breaks it, his dark eyes wide. “Kenma. Kenma, no, you can’t.”

 

“It’s the only way.”

 

“But if I can’t stop you —“

 

“You can,” Kenma says, and then he says the words he never wanted to say again, the words that still ring true after a betrayal and after all the resentment that’s built up inside of him: “I trust you.”

 

And then he’s muttering to himself, rising up into the air, raw power flowing through his veins. It’s the form of his ability he’s never been able to control, the form of his ability that turns him into a killing monster, killing everything in his path including himself. He’ll rage on, manipulating the gravity around him and tossing around heavy objects until he rages himself to death. It's terrifying and completely uncontrollable by Kenma, which is why Kenma almost never uses it. But right now, with both the future of Tokyo and his and Kuroo's own lives at stake, it doesn't feel like he has another choice.

 

He doesn’t remember anything that happens until he’s on the ground, his head in Kuroo’s lap, Kuroo stroking his hair back. “You did it, Kenma,” he whispers, staring down at him with shining eyes.

 

“I guess,” Kenma croaks out, his throat rough and sore, but there’s one thing he wants to know before he goes under. “What’s your last wish, then?”

 

Kuroo’s eyes darken. He bites down on his lip, like he’s considering, and then he says, “For you to know that I’m sorry.”

 

“Kuroo, I - “

 

“I don’t expect you to forgive me,” Kuroo interrupts. “I was… incredibly fucked up at the time. I’d just lost one of the most important people in my life, and for some reason I thought that the solution to that was to cut out the most important person in my life. I don’t regret leaving the Mafia, because like you said, I’m softer now. A better person. But I’m also… not happy, not entirely. I missed you every day. Kenma. My best friend, my partner, my… God, my everything.”

 

“That’s so cheesy,” Kenma mutters.

 

Kuroo laughs, a tear sliding down his face and hitting Kenma’s forehead. “Good to see your sarcasm’s still with you, huh?”

 

Kenma tries to manage a smile at that. But “I missed you too, Kuro,” is all Kenma can get out before his eyes fall shut and his consciousness gives out.

 

And maybe he doesn’t fully forgive Kuroo still. Maybe they’re still existing in different spheres, the Boss of the Port Mafia and an Agency member. Maybe Kenma still doesn’t understand what could make Kuroo ever leave, why he’d thought it necessary to leave Kenma in the dust while he went off to live a new life. And maybe they’ll never fully be what they were before.

 

But maybe it’s a start.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, hi, I just had a burst of inspiration and just... sat down and cranked out this entire fic in like two hours? I've only read through it twice, so if there are any errors, please forgive me and also please let me know!
> 
> Hopefully you don't have to have watched Bungou Stray Dogs to understand this fic, but if there's anything confusing, please let me know! This is a ship fic and not so much an action fic, so that's why I didn't focus a lot on the romance.
> 
> As you probably figured out if you've seen BSD, this is based very much on the story of Dazai and Chuuya, just... much less volatile as Kuroo and Kenma aren't so hotheaded and generally more emotionally stable. I tried to put my own spin on it, though!
> 
> I may or may not write more in this universe! Let me know if you liked this fic or if you want to see more by leaving a comment or kudos!


End file.
